“So were you friends, or just a job?” Brady clarified.
“Craig wasn’t all bad. He could be cool to hang out with. Not the worst job we ever had, but yeah, we mostly reported to him,” Mark confirmed.
“And did whatever he told you to do.” Rachel spat at them. “Don’t believe a word they say.”
“And you’re Little Miss Innocent?” Louis snapped back at her. “Little Miss Queenie over her with her last season knock-offs. Like you weren’t well paid for services rendered? This bitch complains like her life was a total tragedy, but her closet says otherwise. I’m surprised she didn’t complain when she had to put that unfortunate outfit on tonight.”
Rachel’s arm trembled in Brady’s hand, but he held firm, knowing if he let go she’d probably claw his eyes out for that comment. “Even after being beaten, nearly frozen to death, and stalked, this one is finding new ways to try to cut me down. That’s the kind of people you’re dealing with, Brady. Kill them now and put us all out of their misery.”
Mark gave his partner a clear shut up glare, but Louis already had the claws out.
“What?” Louis shrugged. “Salmon is not her color. She needs to avoid that whole pink spectrum. Clashes with the red in her resting bitch face.”
“One. More. Word...” Brady struggled to keep hold of Rachel. She stood fuming, gritting her teeth. Plotting his death, no doubt.
“I’m just saying. There are multiple facets to this whole ordeal. If she’s innocent, then so are we.”
“No one is innocent here,” Brady shouted, earning side-eye glances from other wolves wandering around the reception area. “But if you two don’t stop this cat fight, I will release the wolves on you.”
Louis rolled his eyes and threw a hand on his hip, but kept his mouth shut.
“You two are more trouble than I’m prepared to deal with right now. I’m up to my ears in security bullshit, and I don’t need more from either of you.”
Mark lifted his hand. “If I may. We will voluntarily be placed in lockup for the duration of your festivities, if it puts you at ease.”
“Whether you lie in wait to attack or do it in plain sight makes no difference to my state of at ease.” Brady sighed and let go of Rachel’s hand, half hoping she would kill them and take the problem of what to do with them off the table. “I’m not entirely convinced you’re on the level.”
“Fair enough.” Mark nodded.
“Aiden will determine what to do with you, and I will leave you in his capable hands.” Brady turned to Rachel. “You, on the other hand, are on a short leash until I say otherwise.”
“She might like that,” Louis quipped.
Rachel’s hand came up faster than Brady expected, but Louis was ready for the strike and caught her wrist mid-swing. “Bastard!”
Louis laughed. “Feisty, isn’t she?”
A growl rumbled up Brady’s chest and he swung at the skinny wolf, his boulder-like fist connecting with Louis’s soft jaw.
Rachel jumped back as soon as her hand was released.
Louis snarled and swiped his razor sharp nails across Brady’s chest, slicing off a button from his shirt but failing to break skin.
As if he needed more reason to kill these two, an open attack on his own turf was more than enough. Brady grabbed hold of the skinny wolf’s hand, twisting it and putting pressure on his weak point, and bent it almost enough to break.
Louis screeched and used his free hand to try to claw at Brady.
Mark shouted for his mate to stop and tried to pry him free of Brady’s grip, but it was only the command of Aiden that made Brady stop and let go.
“Brady, take Rachel and go,” Aiden commanded.
Brady nodded to his brother and released the grip he had on Louis, hoping the lesser wolf would try to strike again. Order or no, he had the right to defend himself, and he welcomed the opportunity to use it.
Louis dropped his arms to his side and Mark pulled him close. Trembling with true fear, Mark had the desperate look of a man who knew he was about to lose it all. “We’re only asking for sanctuary. Please,” he pleaded.
Brady did as ordered and took Rachel by the arm, pulling her away from the pair, toward Aiden. “I don’t trust them,” he whispered in his brother’s ear as he passed, walking back down the hall toward the living quarters.
SEVENTEEN
“Why’d he tell you to go?” Rachel asked as they left the group in the lobby. “And where are we going?”
“I’m too personally invested in what is happening. Standard protocol. He’ll have security assist him. Not that he needs it.”
“He fights his own battles?” Rachel sounded shocked.
“Alphas have to be willing to fight. How else do they secure their place in the pack?” Brady said, as if the statement should be obvious.
“Charles... Marsden never fought anyone, as far as I saw. He always had others do the work for him.”
They passed Rachel’s room and headed further down the hallway. Brady had half a mind to bring her back to his room, but knew that would give the wrong message. He just needed to take her to a safe place to cool down while he allowed his brother to clear the lobby.
“Aiden relies on me to do much of the enforcing because that’s my position, but you don’t want to get on his bad side. Everyone in our pack knows just how powerful their Alpha can be.”
“Wish I had grown up in your pack,” Rachel mumbled. “Where are we going?”
Brady passed a door to a room he knew to be vacant and doubled back on it. “We’re just taking a time out. This should do.” He opened the door, confirming it was empty, and stepped inside. “Sorry about the mess. Some rooms are still under renovation.”
During the majority of the year, the compound and the nature preserve it sat on ran on a skeleton crew. Wolves in the Olde Town were always welcome to come and stay as they liked. It made for a great spot to retreat to and enjoy a private vacation from the busy city life, and only on major holidays or pack gatherings did it ever reach full capacity.
White sheets covered almost everything in the room, and though it was in the living quarters wing of the compound, there was no bed. Desks and tables of all sorts had been piled up in the room. The bathroom door had been taped off, and the only window in the room had been boarded over.
“What happened in here?” Rachel asked, as she looked around the ghost of a room.
“A fight with the Acta Sanctorum a while back. Some of the compound took hard hits.” Brady walked to the light switches and flicked the first one.
Nothing. He tried the second, and a fan overhead began to spin, but still no light. The third switch worked, but only one of the three lights in the fan began to glow. “This room still needs a bit of work.” He shrugged.
“You guys see a lot of action?” Rachel walked toward the boarded up window. Between the cracks a little moonlight snuck in.
“Our pack sees more action than most, from what I understand.”
“And you’re obviously more than well equipped for it.” She turned and faced him, her eyebrow quirking up slightly, as if seeing him in some new light. “Thanks for defending me back there.”
“Your protection is my job.” Well intentioned or not, he realized he’d put himself in a compromising position. The look in her eye as she slowly strolled across the room toward him was nothing short of predatory.
His head spun from all the mixed signals she was sending his way. Not that long ago she’d stated quite clearly that they’d had fun and were done. He hadn’t liked it, but he respected it. Even reasoned that it was the right thing to do. And now, alone with her and with nothing but time on their hands, she was giving a completely different vibe.
“I want you to know how much I appreciate your protection.”
Actions always spoke louder than words, and for wolves who had no voice when in their animal form, body language was truth.
The lick of her lips. The flip of her hair. The way she drew her hand down b
etween her breasts and finished with an arc out to her hips while she walked. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what she was after.
Rachel came face to face with him, her eyes still locked onto his, almost daring him to look away in submission.
But this time he would not allow her to take control. Not when it was simply a mind game. “Is this how it’s going to be?” Brady asked.
Rachel blinked and took a step back. “What do you mean?”
“You’re only this nice to me when I defend you?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Last night you were awfully friendly. This morning, cold shoulder. And now...”
Rachel threw her hands up in frustration and turned away from him. “You think I’m using sex to thank you?”
He didn’t want to say the words outright, knowing it would start another unnecessary fight. Tact wasn’t always his strong suit, though. “I don’t know what you’re doing,” he sighed, to give him time to come up with something else to add. “It would be great if you’d just be honest with me.”
“I was being honest. We said no strings.”
“Okay, then. Loud and clear. No strings.”
“But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun every now and again.” Rachel winked.
“So you want to be fuck buddies?” Brady watched the way her eyes widened in shock from his bluntness.
“Emma was right about you.”
“What did Emma say?”
“Oh, nothing. Just that you would do anything to avoid continued intimacy with anyone. Fuck buddies. That sounds so appealing.” She rolled her eyes as if insulted by the term.
“What would you call randomly hooking up with no strings?”
“I’d call it what it was – two people enjoying each other... because they want to...when time permits. I wouldn’t make it sound so cheap and disgusting.”
“Really? That’s disgusting? I’m calling it what it is. We fucked. It was mind-blowing, but that’s what we were doing.”
Her smile faded to some warped version of a snarl, as if she wanted to be mad but hadn’t fully committed to it. “Forget I said anything. I don’t want to fuck you again if that’s all it was to you.”
Holy shit, women are complicated!
And they wondered why he refused to settle down. Who could, when under such constant scrutiny? One wrong word and he was in the doghouse. No. Hell no. And even if he hadn’t already committed to not sleeping with her again, he’d go ahead and put the final nail in that coffin.
“Sure seemed like you wanted too a minute ago.” Brady threw the attitude right back at her. “What changed? The fact I was honest about it?”
“There’s honesty, and there’s being crude.”
“Get over yourself and be honest. You want to fuck.”
“No, I don’t. I want to make love.”
“Love is for relationships. You want no strings, you get no strings. And you get fucked. Good and hard, and as often as possible. But don’t mistake that for love or companionship, honey.”
“Fucking is what Craig did,” Rachel’s voice cracked with emotion.
Brady understood her hatred of the word now. But if she’d been honest rather than pick a fight about it, he’d have learned the truth more quickly. “He was an ass. Don’t let him set the bar for you.”
She blew out a long breath and shook her head. “I’m pretty messed up, aren’t I?” She didn’t look at him, choosing to pace the floor instead.
Brady reached out but just missed her arm as she passed him. “We’ve all got our demons.”
“Mine are a little....hornier than most.” She stopped and looked back. Brady caught the hunger still lingering in her eyes. “Can’t always help myself, and sex is great stress relief.”
“Can’t argue with you there. It’s something we’re both good at.”
She snorted but didn’t have an immediate retort.
He’d promised himself he wouldn’t, but damn if didn’t want her right then. The way she looked at him, the way her eyelashes fluttered as she held contact with him... he could hear the thrumming of her heart.
Anticipation of what was to come.
Wordlessly daring him to make a move.
He wanted to be good; to hold to his promise. But the blood left his brain the moment she bit her bottom lip.
He’d pay for his sins one day. But today was not that day.
“I could show you the true meaning of the word. Not some bastardized version of it.” Brady closed in on her, slowly backing her up against the wall. “Admit it. You want to fuck. Say it.”
Her smile returned when she looked up to meet his predatory gaze. “What if...” She gulped. “I want a little more than just a fuck?”
“Truth?” He bent down and nuzzled her neck with his nose, taking in her perfume before nipping at her pulse.
“I don’t know what I want,” she panted.
“I think you do. And I want the same thing,” Brady whispered in her ear, as he nudged his hips forward and pressed his aching hardness against her.
“I love sex, and god, you’re sexy.” She turned her head away, exposing her neck further for him to explore.
He pecked and nibbled his way around the buttery soft skin at the base of her neck and worked his way back up to nip at her ear before stealing her breath away with a kiss.
Her hands found their way to his belt and unclasped it with practiced efficiency. Buttons and zippers unfastened before he had realized what she was doing.
Brady deepened the kiss, promising without words to return the favor while Rachel freed him from his cloth prison and took hold of him.
He moaned with her first tight stroke, savoring the feel of her warm hands around him and the instant chill that trailed in the wake of their movement.
She whispered in his ear, “I like you... maybe too much to share.”
He knew he was going to go to hell for this. She had all but asked him to commit to her, and though it went against every part of his persona, he’d agree to anything she asked at that moment if it meant he could be inside her once more.
He lowered his head again, finding that tender spot at the base of her neck and planted a gentle kiss.
“But I don’t want to be someone’s property again.” Rachel punctuated her point with another gentle stroke.
A low growl rumbled up his chest, a mix of pleasure and raw power. Her words reminded him of his vow to protect her from the life she’d had before. Brady took hold of her hips and looked her in the eyes. “You will never be property.”
She smiled up at him, still holding him hostage in her hands. “What would I be...to you?”
Torture, pure and simple. She had him where she wanted him, and knowing it, he enjoyed how strong her will was all the same. The wrong words might end the moment, but he was willing to take that gamble.
“You would be enjoying the moment, and we would be fucking right there on that desk if you stopped asking so many questions.” Brady took his eyes off her for long enough to check the lock at the door. The last thing he needed was an interruption. “I did say I would redefine that word for you, didn’t I?”
Before she could answer or think to ask another question, he took hold of her hips, lifted her up, and carried her over to the sheet-covered desk.
A bed would have been more comfortable but he liked the idea of bending her over the side and driving himself home. First, though, he had a lesson to teach.
Brady set her roughly on the desk, fitting himself between her spread legs. He nibbled again at her neck while he worked to undo her blouse and expose the perfection of her breasts. He’d devour every last delectable inch of her body if that’s what it took to prove his point.
Rachel leaned back, opening herself up to his exploration.
Straps and buttons and clips. He didn’t have time for these nuisances but reminded himself to be gentle, as they still had appearances to make before the evening was through. The rewar
d for his care were two perfect breasts, heaving as Rachel panted with excitement, with nipples hardening the moment they hit the cool air, begging for the heat of his mouth.
Stiff as those tiny peaks were, he felt infinitely more rigid and he ached for connection. Brady nudged his hips forward, rubbing gently against her thighs. As if reading his mind, she lifted up off the desk and took hold of him once more, her fiery hands instantly igniting his body.
He lowered his head to her breasts, and Rachel moaned as he sucked a nipple into his mouth.
They worked in unison, her massaging him from stem to root while he curled his tongue around her peak.
She stroked. He nipped.
Brady had thought he was schooling her, but she clearly had studied and practiced, matching him in skill and pleasure.
Still he teased and sucked, making her squirm, enjoying how receptive she was to his every move. He switched from one nipple to the other, and suddenly she squealed and released her grip on him.
“Someone is ticklish,” he chuckled, feeling he’d gotten the upper hand, and pressed Rachel down against the desk. “Let’s see what else I can tickle.” He tugged at her skirt and she shimmied her hips again to allow him to remove it along with her panties. As he bent down to slip them free, he ran his tongue the length of her legs, down and back up to her wet slit.
Rachel’s leg trembled as he reached her clit, and when he gave it a little flick with his tongue, her heard the catch of her breath.
The sexiest sound of them all. Moans could be faked. Calling out someone’s name was so cliché. Bu that uncontrollable hiccupping breath and the involuntary twitch was truth. He drew her feet up and threaded them over his shoulders, one on each side, and then dove head first between her legs.
She was hot and wet and oh, so responsive to even the slightest of touches. Curling his tongue around her nub, he tickled her clit. Her hips bucked as she rode his face, moaning and panting. He listened to what her body told him and drove her on more fiercely.
Nothing held back, she voiced her pleasure as he worked her body into a frenzy. Her legs tightened against him, thighs pressing together as he delved deeper, sending his tongue into her heat. She twitched and bucked as his nose rubbed her clit while he pushed his tongue even deeper.
Mated (Olde Town Pack Book 2) Page 10
